Lcci: ‘Cut sales tax, levy agri tax’

The chairman of Lcci said value added tax and sales tax are counterproductive.

LAHORE: The government needs to bring down the rate of general sales tax to 12 per cent and levy direct taxes on agricultural income, said the chairman of the Founders Group of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday. Speaking at the inauguration of new Founders office at the Big City Plaza in Liberty Market, Founders Group chairman Mian Tajammal Hussain said the high rate of sales tax discouraged people from entering the tax net. “Value added tax and sales tax are counterproductive,” he said, adding that direct taxes were superior to indirect taxes. He said people who owned more than ten hectares of agricultural land must be taxed. He also suggested that the government, in the upcoming budget, focus on developing alternate sources of energy, particularly hydropower and biofuel; double healthcare funding and supply medical school graduates with land, infrastructure and loans to build health facilities in rural areas; focus education spending on technical training rather than sending students abroad; and develop technology for mining local copper, coal, iron and gold deposits.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2011.